Some Senate Republicans are reportedly scared of the consequences of voting against legislation to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies to millions of people — and are trying to work out a way to survive the optics of it.

The extension of ACA subsidies, without which some people could see their premium costs double or triple, is the sticking point behind the weeks-long federal government shutdown, with Democrats refusing to commit the votes to continuing funding for the government without a deal on the matter.

Republicans entered into the standoff confident the public would take their side, but instead, poll after poll has seen voters blame the GOP's refusal to negotiate on health care for the shutdown.

"During Senate GOP lunch, some R’s said they want to be able to vote on a GOP bill on the Obamacare subsidies — a sign that there’s concern about the politics of rejecting a Dem-drafted bill (and even a bipartisan bill)" Punchbowl News' Andrew Desiderio reported on X Tuesday afternoon.

This comes a day after Politico reported that a bipartisan team of lawmakers in the House has released the tentative framework for a compromise on ACA subsidies, which would extend them for two more years and impose some new limits on income.

President Donald Trump and GOP leadership publicly continue to insist they will not negotiate on the issue at all until after the government has been reopened.